Sunday, December 03, 2006

With all the hoopla over racial comments made by the two Michaels recently-Richards and Irvin-everyone seems to be overlooking the comments that was recently made by one Bernard Goldberg. A contributor on HBO's "Real Time" with Bryant Gumbel, and the author of books, such as "Bias", and "The 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America". Mr. Goldberg is a former CBS reporter who has turned his wrath on the liberal press for what he calls liberal bias. Ever since he wrote an oped piece in the Wall Street Journal in 1996, he has been a darling of the right for his willingness to speak out against the, ahem, liberal media empire that is supposedly poisoning America. In truth, he is no more than a hustler and opportunist who has found a way to pimp the conservative discontent with what they perceive as a prevalent main stream media bias.So anyway, this charlatan is on Bill O'Rielly's FAKE NEWS television program, discussing the Danny DeVito meltdown on "The View". Of course, they were upset at not at his alcoholic induced meltdown, and lack of decorum, but of his rant against their beloved President Bush. So after some discussion about the issue, Goldberg makes what I think is probably as outrageous a comment as the ones made even by Richards: He says, and I am paraphrasing here, that he, DeVito, being on the "View" was like being at a Klan rally-I guess he should know-because every one on the show was agreeing with him-DeVito- about the President,and it was all these like minded people gathered in one place. So what the f**k!!! Are you serious? Comparing an appearance on a television show to being at a Klan rally. Maybe Mr. Goldberg doesn't realize how serious the sh** is that he is saying. Klan rallies were where plans were made to lynch my people and burn out and scare hard working families from the South off of their property and their land. Klan rallies are where groups were organized-and still are- to terrorize my people and keep us oppressed and in fear for years. And Klan rallies were held in secret with many prominent towns people and citizens taking part in the conspiracy of hate. The last time I checked, "The View" actually had black people on it.-Yeah I know Star Jones is gone, but they have had a token on damn near every day since- So how dare Mr. Goldberg makes that comparison? And why isn't America talking about it except on maybe a few left wing blogs like News Hounds?Well, I think I know why. It's this new trivialization of black suffering that America is so fund of doing these days. It's why you hear racist and ignorant rants from Michael Richards about stringing us up, in a public place like a comedy club. It's why my Irish and Italian immigrant friends tell me they don't want to hear about how blacks suffered, because when their ancestors came here they couldn't get municipal jobs, or they had to work in the mines of Western Pennsylvania, and the Irish were discriminated against because they were poor and they were different, and the Italians were discriminated against because of the stigma of being Italian....give me a f*****g break! With all due respect to my ethnic friends, they have no idea what discrimination is. When you are beaten beyond recognition for looking at a white woman, when one of your churches is bombed on a Sunday morning and four of your little girls killed, or when state troopers, and local police are given the green light to fire hose your ass, and beat you within an inch of your life, then get back to me. It's why I get so pissed when I hear conservatives quote all of a sudden their favorite line from MLK's I have a dream speech. You know the one, about "not being judged by the color of your skin but by the content of your character.." yeah that one. It's easy for you to say, the Klan wasn't plotting your destruction on a daily basis.

But this is what's happening in America now. The hurt and past suffering of black folks being minimized and trivialized in order for us to move forward. It's why that house Negro de jure, Ward Cooonerly, can push for, and get passed, his bogus anti affirmative action amendments. Who needs affirmative action when we are all equal now? When the past suffering wasn't as bad as we think it is. When, if you think about it, all ethnic groups suffered, and we all have moved past all that now. Yeah right, unless you are a Native American, don't even tell me about all suffering being equal in this f*****g country. And no, we haven't moved past it, because the sh** is still happening.Which brings me to another point. Goldberg is Jewish. And I am not even going to get into that old argument about which one was worse, the holocaust or slavery. In my humble opinion, both rank up there as man's greatest inhumanity to man in modern history. You can argue 1 and 1A it doesn't matter to me. From the birth of the Gestapo in 1933 to the atrocities at places like Auschwitz after Hitler's "final solution" plan, where Zyklon-B was used to gas-with all due respect to Mel Gibson's daddy-millions of Jews, there is no doubt that the holocaust was a horrible time in world history. But so was slavery. The "Middle Passage" was no picnic in the park either, and if 20% of the slave cargo was lost at sea, and historians generally agree that about six millions slaves were taken across the middle passage to the West; well then you do the math. And I won't even get into the conditions on those slave ships because like the conditions in the concentration camps, it has been well documented. My point is, as a Jew, Goldberg should know better. But it was so easy for him to throw out the Klan reference, and so easy for America to over look it that it bothers the sh** out of me. If a non-Jew had made a reference like that about the Holocaust , the press would have be all over him.-and rightfully so- But because it's black folks, and black suffering is no big deal anymore, Goldberg gets a pass.Well fu** that, he won't get a pass from me, and neither will anyone else who tries to tell me thatit wasn't always that bad for black folks. Hey, look at the bright side, if it wasn't for slavery, you people would still be in Africa. Yeah I have heard conservatives make that argument too. But I think I know what my problem is; and it goes back to the whole holocaust slavery thing. The people that were responsible for that Holocaust got what they had coming to them. The Auschwitz Kommandant, Hoss, was captured and hung. Herman Goring committed suicide rather than face hanging, as did Hitler himself, and at the Nuremberg trials, sixteen of those former SS officers were found guilty, and seven of them hanged. So in essence, many of the people responsible for that horrible chapter in history faced justice, and were prosecuted for their crimes against humanity. But that never happened here. Those responsible for enslaving and terrorizing my people were never brought to justice, and are still holding rallies today. Rallies, that Mr. Goldberg feels free to mention so flippantly, and with such ease.

"By the way that was a long overdue suggestion" That quote comes from Mr. Goldberg telling Allan Colmes about what he thought of Dick Cheyney telling Patrick Leahey to "go fu*k yurself" on the floor of the senate. Mr. Goldberg, may I suggest you do the same?

21 comments:

FN, Excellent commentary.... you speak power to truth my Bruh! I have had some of my white liberal friends in the past also tell me that what Black people suffered wasn't all that bad "compared to.....". "Mi put dem inna chek quick!" I let them know that comparing oppressions is indirectly and subconsciously saying that what happened to Blacks "is" acceptable to "THEM!" That usually gets them stuttering with "That's not what I mean.... etc" and falling all over themselves trying to apologize and convince me that they don't have a racist bone in their body! Uh-huh....

Hey FN:I agree with you and Asabagna. I hate the comparisons of suffering in the world! Evil is evil, but in the United States, unless someone professes Judaism publically it is difficult to tell many Jews from American Whites. In that sense, they have an advantage in this country that Black folk have never had. And you are right to point out the institution of racism into law. I have read Higgenbotham's book on Early Colonial Law and I haven't seen anything discriminatory about Jews, but I did see laws banishing Blacks from early Georgia (1735) and I did see the laws post Stono Rebellion in South Carolina.

I still think that although we are making strides, Blacks are still relatively at the bottom of the barrel in this country. We have a lot of strides to make. Trivializing our experience as a people is so destructive to our success.

I also wonder about the comedic genius of Dave Chapelle. On the one hand, I thought some of his material was necessary and was the type of 'in your face' statements that were needed to bring attention to inequities in our society. However, in time I felt that he ended up trivializing our plight and his gratuituous use of the N word almost gave license to others to toss it around...Rambling sorry;)

Mahndisa, good point about the color of ones skin masking his true identity or nationality. Whether it be Irish, Italian or Polish, a white person is still white in appearance, and therefore gets the benfit of the doubt in matters of race.

As for Chapelle, I co-sigh with you on him as well. At times he can display some comedic genius; but I also worry about his actions trivializing some serious subjects.

I think a lot of the trivialization comes from our reaction to the wrong things. Not to bring up "Kramer" again but we got so caught up in the 'N' word that the lynching references went almost without mentioning. That's even worse than dropping the 'N' bomb if you ask me.

Again, let's pick our targets and causes more carefully. Otherwise, we'll have Jesse riding for Kramer at the same time cops are putting holes through black folks for leaving strip clubs.

I agree with speez. I think we are quick to feverishly react to the wrong things, and we end up trivializing our own experience. We honestly can't expect another race of people to accurately appreciate our experience or expect them not to marginalize our struggle when we can't do the same for ourselves.

And I'm glad that you respect the struggles of other races while at the same time not wanting to trivialize our own. Too many people in our race want everyone to appreciate and essentially feel sorry for us because our race has been through it, but they don't want to hear about any other race's issues. It's like "Feel bad for me because I'm black and my ancestors were slaves, but I don't give a damn that half your family died in the holocaust. Feel sorry for me, I'm black!!!"

Also, we have to be careful not to under-trivialize the situation. When we use the fact that our ancestors were slaves a the sole justification for our actions and pathos, then there is a problem. Slavery is quickly becoming people's scapegoat for not doing well in their life, and that's a crying shame. No, we're not on an even playing field yet, but trying to hold onto a scapegoat like that isn't healthy and doesn't allow for personal improvement. Using that reason as an excuse to be lazy and do bad for yourself is inexcusable.

I also wonder sometimes about not only Dave Chappelle,but also at times, Chris Rock. Even though both can be considered comedic geniuses, I wonder if society at large can accurately tell the difference between their genius and their bottom-of-the barrel humor.

I can relate when you say many of your white friends are tired of hearing about the history of what's happened with black people. I hear their mumbling and see their looks of impatience when references are made to slavery and lynching. They wish that black people would "just get over it." Yet, these are the same people that, after 9/11 happened, just couldn't understand how a group of people can hate enough to bring down the Twin Towers. They actually had the nerve to say that Americans don't commit acts of terrorism like "those Arabs." They don't understand how people in Lebanon can vote groups like Hamas into power. All I could say to them was GET REAL! Church bombings are terrorist acts. Lynchings are terrorist acts. And last time I checked, the KKK, a terrorist organization, still exists in the U.S.

Hogan has air sole unit cushioning and shock absorption with premium leather on the upper areas. Hogan scarpe donna basketball shoe is a fancy one with rich purples and gold designs. Hogan scarpe uomo features zoom technology in the heel and forefoot for ideal comfort. It also has fly wire upper for lightweight support. The low top silhouette for a range of ankle motion gives the shoe owner the best motion ability that they can get. Hogan uomo also provides carbon fiber arch plate with enhanced mid foot support and molded external heel counter for heel support.

Many professional Jews consider the Holocaust to be THE major crime in humanity and they will chase you down and make you apologize in academic journals if it is suggested otherwise.

I was checking out Jewish speakers for a cultural event and vetoed several for that very reason; they believed that no one has ever suffered like Jews have. One of the speakers wrote an academic paper about how slavery in America was not as bad as the Holocaust.

As for Irish and Italian they still have the dibs on the best jobs in plumbing and electrician area and have a monopoly on licensing companies that pourposely excludes Blacks. That is why so few Blacks work in that area outside of state or federal positions, and why none have their own companies. In spite of the immigrant discrimination, they were able to hog entire markets and get hired over black folks,so they benefited from racism even in the north.There are still Irish bars that will not admit Black folks, even now in the 21st millenium.A pretty racist bunch on the whole.

Follow the The Field Negro via e-mail.

TWEET ME

@fieldnegro

DISCLAIMER

*COMMENTS, LINKS, AND CUT AND PASTE ARTICLES, ARE NOT ALL ENDORSED BY THE PUBLISHER.

THIS BLOG claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to its respectful owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and do not wish for it appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.

MORE DISCLAIMERS

***The views expressed on this site are the field's and the field's alone. They do not reflect the views of his employer, or any professional or legal organization with which he is affiliated.***

This is a commercial free blog.

Money is nice, but being able to speak my mind is better.

"Real talk: Daniel Rubin has a great little piece up wherein he chats with The Field Negro, the Philly-based blogger who sharply ponders all things black on a daily basis. (Seriously, if you’ve never checked in with TFN, you should: Its author, Wayne Bennett, is a fantastic read who can cut through bullshit like a hot knife through butter, which is a far grosser analogy than I wanted to make, but there you have it.)" ~Philebrity~

"One of the most precocious and hilarious Black political minds on the net. Ive been a long-time fan!" ~Asad Malik~

"..While most of what he writes is tongue-in-cheek, his space is a safe house for candid discussions about race, especially in the comments section, where people of all colors meet."~~Daniel Rubin, "The Philadelphia Inquirer"~~

"To white people, Bennett's musings are like kitchen-table talk from a kitchen they may otherwise never set foot in. To African Americans, he is part of a growing army of black Internet amateurs who have taken up the work once reserved for ministers and professional activists: the work of setting a black agenda, shaping black opinion and calling attention to the state of the nation's racial affairs."

~~Richard Fausset, "L.A. Times"~~~

"That's why I love the blog "Field Negro" so much. Field, as he's known to his fans, has the sense of reality that it takes to call out the (CowPuckey) of blame beating by those who are in positions of power and their lackeys. Because of his handle and his unabashed way of writing about racial issues, Field is often cited as a "Black blogger." What he is, however, is a first-class detector of blame deflection and an excellent student of history. If you want to write about the past and future of repression there's really no other perspective to take - which is why everyone should read Field."

"Half a century after Little Rock, the Montgomery bus boycott and the tumultuous dawn of the modern civil rights era, the new face of the movement is Facebook, MySpace and some 150 black blogs united in an Internet alliance they call theAfroSpear.

Older, familiar leaders such as Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton and NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, are under challenge by a younger generation of bloggers known by such provocative screen names as Field Negro, thefreeslaveand African American Political Pundit. And many of the newest struggles are being waged online."~Howard Witt-The Chicago Tribune~

"I had no idea, for example, of the extent of the African-American blogging world out there and its collective powers of dissemination.But now, after reading thousands of anguished, thoughtful comments posted on these blogs reflecting on issues of persistent racial discrimination in the nation's schools and courtrooms, what's clear to me is that there's a new, "virtual" civil rights movement out there on the Internet that can reach more people in a few hours than all the protest marches, sit-ins and boycotts of the 1950s and 60s put together." ~Chicago Tribune Reporter, Howard Witt~